Casting Couch Frenzy

With under a month to go, Oscar fever may be starting to kick off but as yet it's nothing compared to the frenzy of casting news coming out of Hollywood. First up is Julianne Moore busy capitalizing on her double Oscar nomination by lining herself up to play opposite no less than Bond himself, Pierce Brosnan, in romantic comedy Laws of Attraction. In final negotiations to get all loved up for director Michael Caton-Jones, Moore will play top divorce lawyer who faces off with fellow lawyer Brosnan both in and out of court. Jude Law hasn't been a lazy boy, either. No doubt creating yet more fodder for the tabloids, Law is set to team up with fellow Cold Mountain star Natalie Portman in an adaptation of Patrick Marber's acclaimed play, Closer about four strangers who meet and fall in love in contemporary London. Adding to the already bulging talent quota on the flick, The Graduate and Primary Colors helmer Mike Nichols has been persuaded to direct the script penned by the playwright himself. And where there's casting news, there must be Nicole Kidman. Currently the only person to whom any self-respecting executive would even dream of proffering a script, Kidman is in negotiations to star with Brad Pitt in the action-adventure flick Mr and Mrs Smith. Directed by The Bourne Idenitity's Doug Liman, the film is described